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Svalbard Global Seed Vault Prepares For First Even Withdrawal; Deadly Rampage at Israeli Bus Station; Protests Erupt Over Rape of Young Children in Delhi; Low Turnout Plagues Egyptian Parliamentary Elections. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET

Aired October 19, 2015 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:13] GEORGE HOWELL, HOST: Another tense day in Israel following a deadly rampage at a bus station. We have the very latest on the violence

and the death of one man who was mistaken for an attacker.

Also ahead on this broadcast, outrage in India. Protests erupt after the rapes of very young children have shocked that nation. We'll speak to

one woman working to improve the security of India's women and girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No one who was involved in this Svalbard global seed vault project ever thought they would see a

withdrawal in their lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: A report about the global seed vault designed to protect vital crops from catastrophic events. But now war in Syria has prompted the

first ever withdrawal from that bank. A report from the Arctic Circle later in this show.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World.

HOWELL: This is Connect the World. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center here in Atlanta. We begin in Israel where police are releasing new

information about an attack on a bus station that killed a soldier, but also lead to the death of an innocent bystander.

They are just now identifying the attacker as an Arab citizen of Israel. Security forces shot and killed him.

But later, a guard also shot an Eritrean migrant apparently believing that he was an attacker as well.

An angry crowd then beat the migrant as he lay on the floor. He died of his wounds.

And video of that mob attack did air on Israeli TV, and it has triggered a great deal of outrage.

For more, let's go straight to Jerusalem. Phil Black standing by for us live there this hour. Phil, so these latest incidents add to an already

tense situation there. What more do we know about the investigation?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: George, when it comes to this attack overnight, there are two tragic elements to it. Firstly, as

you mentioned, the attack itself. A Bedouin Arab man walked into the bus station, approached an Israeli soldier, and shot him at close range with a

handgun before taking that soldier's weapon, an M16, and then opening fire with that.

There was a shootout with police. And eventually, that attacker was killed, but at least 11 people were injured in the process.

And then while this was going on amid the fear and terror that that obviously created, and we can show you this on security video that captured

the moment, people fleeing from that attack, one of those people who were trying to get away was a 29 year old Eritrean man. And you can see him in

the security video trying to crawl to safety. And as he is doing so, he's approached by a security guard who shoots him.

What happens next is even more distressing, and it's been captured on video, posted online and various other places. And I have to warn, this

video it's pretty difficult to watch. But what it shows is that crowd, fueled by a mix of rage and fear, turning on that fallen man who is lying

there, injured, bleed. They scream abuse. They physically assault him. In the words of the police, he was kicked beyond recognition.

He eventually was sent to hospital, but he died later on. And it was only after all of this that the police established that that man was in no

way involved in the attack.

Police are now trying to find the people responsible for that physical abuse. And they say they take a very severe view of people taking the law

into their own hands in this way, George.

HOWELL: So, investigators, Phil, looking at that video to try to identify people really so many of these incidents of violence, many of them

started with the flashpoint of the al Aqsa mosque and now we're seeing it just happened week after week.

Are there any indications that there are any talks at all about trying to de-escalate the situation?

BLACK: Not at a leadership level, so not between the Palestinian leadership and the leaders of the Israeli government. They are not

communicating directly, no.

Both sides claim that they want peace, but they are unwilling, it would seem, or unable, really, to find the ground, the common ground, to

step back from this.

So, what we continue to see is a very marked increase in security across the region, but especially here in Israel and -- sorry, Jerusalem, I

should say, and east Jerusalem in particular, around Palestinian communities that Israeli officials say many of these attackers who have

been involved in these knife attacks against Jewish Israelis on the streets here, well, it's where they come from. And so that's why we're seeing

fortified checkpoints, new walls going up, these sorts of things.

The Palestinians who live in these communities are not happy about it. They view it as collective punishment, but what we hear from the Israeli

government is that they believe this is absolutely a necessary, reasonable and hopefully short-term measure to return peace and security to these

streets, George.

[11:05:00] HOWELL: Phil Black live for us in Jerusalem. Phil, thank you so much for your reporting.

Now we move to the war in Syria. The U.S. military says that it carried out one airstrike in the country targeting ISIS militants over the

past 24 hours. But in the meantime Russia, their forces say that they launched some 33 attacks in the same time period. They claim 49 ISIS

targets were hit.

As the number of war planes flying over Syria continues to expand, Britain's defense secretary had this to say in remarks to parliament --

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FALLON, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: We support the airstrikes being conducted by the coalition against ISIL in Syria, airstrikes that are

now being carried out by Australian, French and as well as American aircraft. And as my right honorable friend, the prime minister, has said

there is a very strong case for us to be doing more in Syria to dealing with the heartland of ISIL, it's command and control, but we will only

return to parliament for authority to do so when we have established a sufficient consensus here in this parliament.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: It is a multi-faceted war.

Let's go straight to the Russian capital, Moscow. CNN's Matthew Chance standing by live for us there. Matthew, good to see you this day.

So, as Russian show its muscle in the Middle East, there are concerns, though, about retaliation back at home. What more can you tell us about

that?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think you're right. There are a lot of concerns about that, and probably with good

reason, too, because many of the rebel groups inside Syria that have been subject to the air campaign by Russia have vowed to take their retribution

to strike the Russians at least on the ground in Syria.

But of course Russia has a history of terrorist attacks on its home soil. There's been a catalog of various attacks that have taken place over

the past couple of decades. They've been fighting an Islamist war in their restive southern provinces as well.

And so I think with the Syrian intervention, those concerns that were already widely held in Russia have now been heightened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Into the morass of Syria's war. Russia has plunged itself headfirst. Its newly modernized military is pounding rebels from the air,

and from the sea. Potentially game-changing fire power, never before seen on the Syrian battlefield. But it's the potential consequences at home, the

retribution, the blow back that has the Kremlin concerned.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA, (through translator): On different estimates already from 5,000 to 7,000 people from Russia, and

other former soviet states are collaborating with Islamic states, taking part in military actions with them. We certainly can't let them use here at

home, the experience they are receiving in Syria.

CHANCE: Russia already has bitter experience of home-grown terrorism, and Tatiana is just one of its victims. She lost her eldest son, Alexander,

in one of the most notorious attacks. The siege of a Moscow theater in 2002, when Chechen rebels held an entire audience hostage, before Russian

special forces moved in with a mysterious and deadly gas, leaving 130 of the audience dead, 40 militants were executed.

TATIANA KARPOVA, MOTHER (through translator): As for my son, when the raid was over they started bringing out the dead bodies. They were just

laid on the steps of the theater. My son was among them. No one checked their pulse and no one checked whether they were dead or alive. They called

them bodies. Those bodies were knocked out by the gas.

CHANCE: There have been other atrocities, too. In Beslan in 2004, more than 330 people were killed, including 186 children, held on their first

day of school. Russia's brutal wars in mainly Muslim Chechnya, and the countries rested south have sported a catalog of horrors. Including suicide

attacks on Russia's transport system, like the train station in Volgograd. And Moscow's crowded metro. We've come to the Park Kultury station deep

beneath the streets of the Russian capital, one of the two metros, that was attacked by suicide bombers back in 2010, killing over 40 people and

injuring more than 100. At somewhere here there's a small plaque to commemorate the victims.

But it's pretty low profile, because the authorities rejected big memorials saying they didn't want to frighten commuters. The Kremlin isn't

even trying to hide the growing threat posed by Russia's intervention in Syria. Hardly a day passes without state television broadcasting reports of

ISIS sympathizers in Russia, being thwarted from carrying out some terrorist plot. The latest arrests were made in Moscow, according to state

media, militants trained in ISIS camps in Syria poised to attack public transport. It may help the Kremlin justify its Syrian intervention. But it

also stirs deep-seated fears.

KARPOVA (through translator): It can be repeated at any moment. I'm afraid when my other son is on the metro, on his way to work. It can happen

on any public transport. I'm constantly afraid of the terrorists. I live with this fear.

(PEOPLE SHOUTING)

CHANCE: The fear of how Russia's bold campaign in Syria may one day find its way home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: All right, well despite those concerns there's still no letup in the campaign on the ground, or from the air in the airspace over Syria

by the Russian armed forces. In the latest statement given by the Russian defense ministry, you mentioned the 33 sorties, but in more detail, 49

strikes against areas targets in the course of the past 24 hours, hitting arms dumps, bunkers controlled by Islamic State and other rebel groups and

of course the rebels themselves as well. And so the air campaign is continuing unabated.

[11:10:23] HOWELL: Matthew Chance live for us in Moscow. Matthew, thank you so much for your reporting.

You are watching Connect the World. And still to come this hour, the polls are open, but many voters are not showing up. Why some believe

elections in Egypt are suffering from low voter turnout.

And out in the cold, thousands of people are on the border of Croatia and Slovenia trying to make their way further into Europe. We'll have the

very latest on the growing migrant bottleneck straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: You are watching CNN and this is Connect the World. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

Voters in Canada are casting their ballots in an election that could unseat Prime Minister Steven Harper. Harper is hoping to carry his

Conservative Party to a fourth election victory, but recent polls show him trailing behind liberal rival Justin Trudeau. The final ballots won't be

cast for at least another 10 hours. And voters are expected to turnout in droves.

However, a very different story in Egypt where the government is reporting that voter turnout so far is low. Egyptians began voting in the

first phase of parliamentary elections on Sunday. A second day of voting began hours ago. To boost turnout, the government granted public sector

workers a half day off work to cast their ballots.

Let's go straight to Cairo, Egypt. Ian Lee standing by live for us there with more. Ian, good to have you this day.

So, the voter turnout is low. What's the mood there of people about this particular vote?

[11:15:09] IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of people I've talked to, George, have said that they're just not interested in going out

and voting. They don't think that much will change, and frankly, they tell me, that they really don't know the candidates anyway. They only had about

two weeks to actually get to know them.

What we're hearing from state media is they're reporting -- the prime minister is saying, that yesterday voter turnout was about 16 percent, the

government has also said that people with expired national IDs can also vote. We went out to the polls to take a look ourselves. This is what

we've found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Yihad Abdul was 14 years old when revolution swept Egypt. Now four years later, she's voting in her first election. "I want stability for

the country," says the 18 year old. "I want to finish the roadmap like the President said. I want Egypt to be much better. I want all people to

participate. This is important."

But her wish doesn't seem to be coming true, so far. Polling stations we visited, were for the most part empty. Not nearly enough to reflect the

27 million eligible voters. On Saturday night, President Abdel Fattah el- Sisi, urged Egyptians to vote.

ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI, PRESIDENT OF EGYPT (through translator): I therefore call on all Egyptians to head to the polling stations and

strongly rally once more to implement our last milestone, as it was agreed.

LEE: This election is the last stage in his roadmap, following the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. It's been a tumultuous two

years that witnessed the rise of an insurgency and sputtering economy.

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: The country has been going down the drain. We're trying to come out of the drain.

LEE: Stability was the main concern in previous elections. This time around, Egyptians want more.

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Education, education, and education. And health, because the poor people can barely afford to get treated, you know.

LEE: We've traveled to a number of polling stations and talking to the people, they voted for a wide range of candidates and parties. But the one

thing that they all have in common is that they support the President to some degree, and want the new parliament to back his agenda. But that's

from people who actually voted. Violence tore apart the village of Cardasa, after the 2013 popular coup. Since then, Peace has returned. Here voters

demand a better economy, security, and also for the country to heal.

Parliament should find a solution to the rift created after the removal of Dr. Morsi that can lead to reconciliation among Egyptians says

Wahid. The rift only benefits Egypt's enemies. The second round of voting is next month. Egypt is expected to have a new parliament by the end of the

year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And, George, half of Egypt is voting in these last two days. The second half of Egypt, another 27 million eligible voters, will be going

to the polls at the end of next month. We'll be seeing what the government tries to do to get more people out to vote.

HOWELL: Let's talk about the candidates themselves. We're seeing a number of people from Mubarak's party running. Are we seeing a return to

the past, to the days of Mubarak?

LEE: Well, you do have a number of people who are running, but the interesting thing about this parliament from previous parliaments is it's

really fractured. You have multiple parties that are running. There really isn't a clear dominant party. You also have a number of independent

candidates.

So, it will be very difficult for them to try to gather to form some sort of unified coalition, but the one thing we will be watching as well as

what level of support they give to President el-Sisi.

Now why a lot of them do support the president, once they're actually in power, according to the Egyptian constitution the parliament is slightly

more powerful. So will they be willing to give up some of that power to the president? It could cause for a little friction there, George.

HOWELL: Ian Lee live for us in Cairo, Egypt. Ian, thank you so much for your reporting.

Live from the CNN Center World Headquarters in Atlanta, this is Connect the World. And still to come, is Mama Merkel still popular? We'll

take a look at how Germany's response to Europe's migrant crisis could be damaging to German Chancellor's image.

Plus, the war in Syria forces a historic withdrawal of humanity's seed vault. CNN is in the Arctic Circle to explain it all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:23:25] HOWELL: You are watching Connect the World live from CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta. Welcome back. I'm George Howell.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have arrived on Europe's shores so far this year. And the continent's response so far continues to be

divided. For instance, Slovenia, to it says some 5,00 migrants and refugees entered the country from Croatia with more expected. And these

are just some of the people waiting to cross the border.

But Slovenian officials have also been very critical of Germany and Austria. They say that those two countries are blocking the flow of people

wanting to travel north. CNN's Atika Shubert reports on why the issue is becoming even more problematic for the German Chancellor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call her Mama Merkel. For some, she is the embodiment of European wealth and generosity,

the leader who opened the doors for Syrian refugees to Germany and beyond.

But for her harshest critics, Mama Merkel is a withering dismissal of weak leadership in the face of a crisis that threatens to end Europe's free

borders. We took to the streets of the capital to find out what Germans really think of Mama Merkel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She just said that everybody's welcome. That's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I come from New Zealand, where we're not taking too many refugees in, we're actually really -- we're in great admiration of

what she's done.

SHUBERT: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how many people she's opened the doors for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The idea behind it of course is to help, which is always good. But I don't think it's a good idea to tell the people to come

over, we want you, you know, and then after four weeks, we start to close down.

What's the idea behind it? So there doesn't seem to be a plan.

[11:25:08] SHUBERT (voice-over): That concern has dropped her popularity to its lowest point in recent years. For a chancellor that's

been in power for 10 years and possibly hoping for another term, that is not good news.

The problem: too many refugees. Germany now expects as many as a million to apply for asylum this year alone. Up to 10,000 a day are

crossing the border into Germany.

(APPLAUSE)

SHUBERT (voice-over): Many initially applauded her warm welcome but with school gymnasiums, festival tents and churches across the country now

overwhelmed, many are wondering how the country will cope.

Merkel insists she is coming up with solutions, devoting $6 billion to refugee housing and integration, proposing transit zones in Turkey, Hungary

and Greece to slow down the number of refugees. In the meantime, however, Mama Merkel may find Germany is not prepared to provide such a warm welcome

anymore.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You are watching Connect the World. Your latest world headlines straight ahead this hour. Plus, protesters fill the streets in

India's capital. This, after two young girls are raped. We'll have more on the shock and outrage from New Delhi ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: We are live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta this hour. This is Connect the World. I'm George Howell in for Becky Anderson. Our

top stories this hour.

Russia's military campaign in Syria, it continues to intensify. Moscow reports that it carried out another 33 attacks inside Syria in the

past 24 hours alone, claiming 49 ISIS targets had been hit.

The Egyptian government is trying to boost voter turnout on the second day of parliamentary elections. After low turnout on Sunday, the

government granted public sector workers a half day off work to go vote. This is the first phase of the elections, the second phase will then be in

November.

Typhoon Koppu killed at least three people in the Philippines. Slow moving storm is dumping heavy rains on the island of Luzon. Several towns

are submerged and rescuers are struggling to reach people who are stranded on rooftops. More than 70,000 people are in evacuation centers.

The Israeli police say the man behind the bus station attack in one part of the area was an Arab citizen of Israel. They say he opened fire,

killing a soldier and wounding 10 other people. The attacker was then shot dead.

But a guard also fired on an Eritrean migrant believing that he was also involved. A mob then beat the migrant who later died from his wounds.

Let's now turn to India.

Angry protesters there confronted police in New Delhi after two young girls were raped, attacks that shocked that nation. Activists are accusing

the government of failing to protect women and children.

CNN's Mallika Kapur reports these latest attacks come on the heels of an earlier sexual assault of a child.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Shock and anger in New Delhi once again, fear that women and girls are not safe. On Friday, a

2-year-old was allegedly abducted, raped, and later dumped in a park by two teenage boys. That was on the same day a 5-year-old girl was raped in the

eastern part of the city.

In a separate incident, a 4-year-old was sexually violated, too, on October 9. That's three children raped within one week in India's capital.

Delhi's police force moved quickly. They say they've arrested all the suspects in connection with these rapes.

The father of the 2-year-old wants more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is good the police have arrested the accused, but I want them here before the public. They should

fulfill the promise made to us. I don't want to say anything more.

KAPUR: Delhi's chief minister had plenty to say.

He's demanding that he be given control of Delhi's police force, which currently reports to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ARVIND KAJRIWAL, CHIEF MINISTER OF DELHI (through translator): There is no police rule. While a jungle rule in Delhi since Narendra Modi's

government came to power. If you have no time, you're should give up your stubbornness and hand over Delhi police for a year to us. If we are unable

to reach to law and order in a year then take back the control of daily police.

KAPUR: But Modi's government maintains the safety of women and girls is priority. And that police have been effective.

While the political tussle escalates, so do the numbers.

According to national crime statistics, the number of rapes in the country rose by 9 percent in 2014. New Delhi reported the highest number.

On one hand, this is because more women are now reporting cases of violence against them, yet there are many who remain silent. Many victims

or their family members don't report crimes such as rape, because they fear their families and communities will shun them.

Three children were raped in Delhi last week. The reality is, there could have been many more.

Mallika Kapur, CNN, Mumbai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: And those are just the latest in a string of recent rapes in India that have made headlines around the world.

I want you to look at this figure now. There were nearly 37,000 reported rapes across India in the year of 2014, that is according to

India's national crime records bureau. In addition, there were some 4,000 attempted rapes as well, but as Mallika just mentioned, many believe that

those figures grossly underestimate the scale of this very big problem.

Let's speak now with Swati Maliwal. She is the chair of the Delhi Commission for Women and now joins us live from New Delhi. Sowati, thank

you so much for being with us to talk about this issue.

First, though, I want to start with the fact that I believe you met with a young girl who had bite marks and scratch marks all over her body.

What more can you tell us about that meeting?

[11:35:01] SWATI MALIWAL, CHAIR, DELHI COMMISSION FOR WOMEN: Well, on the 10 October, I was informed that a girl had been raped in a similar

manner the way (inaudible) was raped, the brave (inaudible) where in December -- on December 16, 2012.

So, I went and visited her in the hospital and I was absolutely shocked to see what I saw. The girl had bite marks all over her body.

There were bruises that could not be described. And the poor little thing of four years actually had to undergo a two hour surgery, because her

private parts had been so badly mutilated.

And last Saturday, again, this was last Saturday, now again this Saturday I woke up to horrific stories of two girls being gang raped in

separate incidents.

Till then, nobody actually knew about it. I went and visited these two victims in different hospitals in Delhi, and again I was extremely

shocked, because one girl, 5-year-old girl, had to undergo a surgery. And the doctor said that she will take at least two years to recuperate.

And one of the girls, two-and-a-half year old girl, again she had bite marks all over her body and was bleeding profusely.

So, Delhi absolutely was -- I mean, I was completely shocked and the conscience of all of us, I think, has been shaken by what has happened.

HOWELL: Swati, the simple fact that you went to meet with her and, you know, to tell her story here, it's important, you know, so people can

hear about this.

And let's talk about the latest case, these two teenagers accused of raping a 2-year-old girl in New Delhi this past week, the suspect 16 and

17-years-old. And their ages are not so unusual according to India's national crime records bureau, there were nearly 2,000 cases of rape in

India last year alone carried out by people under the age of 18.

Swati, how big of a problem is this?

MALIWAL: I think it's really becoming an epidemic in India. And the entire problem, if we look at the root cause, I got some data out from

Delhi police. And in 2014, 11,000 cases were registered in crime against women in Delhi, out of which only nine cases have been convicted. Can you

imagine in the entire 2014, only nine people were convicted. That is one of the major reasons why this is happening in Delhi, because people are not

scared, there is no fear, there's no fear of the police. There's no fear of the judiciary. And that needs to be set in order.

HOWELL: Swati in terms of concentration, let's talk more about things that are being done there in New Delhi where you are. It has more rapes

than anywhere else in India. Why is that? And what specific measures are you taking there to help the city stop this?

MALIWAL: See, I just assumed the role of the chairperson for the Delhi Commission for Women. And that was just two months back. And since

the time I have come, I have taken charge, I'm trying to talk to all of these agencies, listing out what needs to be done and actually working with

them in order to get it done.

For instance, in Delhi, it has a fractured mandate, thought that the (inaudible) governor is also responsible for certain things, the Delhi

police is responsible for certain things, the central government is responsible for certain things, and the Delhi government is responsible for

certain things.

And it's really sad there is absolutely no coordination amongst these four agencies.

So, the Delhi commission for women has also sought time with the (inaudible) government for tomorrow. And we are going to also be sitting

with him. And we are going to be detailing all these various issues and try and work towards increasing this conviction rate.

Why is it that in Delhi, despite so many rapes being reported, you are just having even in these child cases, children cases, children rape cases,

children gang rape cases, they are pending in our court for three years, four years.

By the time the actual case comes up for trial, it just loses the steam. So, all these -- they're not acts which say that these cases have to

be heard within one year. The punishments have to be served within one year, but that's not happening in Delhi. And the very, very -- at the root

of all of this seems to be the lack of coordination between all of these agencies and everybody passing the blame on to the other.

So, now we are trying to work with all these agencies trying to get them together, listing out exactly what needs to be done, and trying to

work with them in order to get them done.

HOWELL: Swati Maliwal, we really appreciate you being with us to tell us about what you're doing and also to tell the story of the young girl

that you met with. This is a very big and important issue. And we appreciate you being with us to give light to it. Thank you.

Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, this is Connect the World. And still to come this hour...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: No one who was involved in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault Project ever thought they would see a withdrawal in their lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:40:04] HOWELL: CNN is at the doomsday seed vault in Norway for a historic first withdrawal. We'll tell you what prompted the unprecedented

move next.

And why a film about this man, Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs is causing controversy ahead of its release. Stay with us. You're watching

Connect the World.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: You are watching CNN. And this is Connect the World. Welcome back. I'm George Howell.

We now move on to a story about a historic withdrawal at a bank, though there is a difference. This is an Arctic Vault designed to protect

vital crops from global catastrophe. And it's being tapped into for the very first time. The reason behind it, it's because of a war that is

raging thousands of kilometers away. CNN's Arwa Damon explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Imagine earth decimated. Essential food crops wiped out by catastrophe. It is here, buried deep in

an arctic mountain, where the seeds for humanity's survival are stored. But it wasn't an environmental disaster that caused the first mass withdrawal

from the so-called doomsday seed vault. It was war. The war in Syria. Cut off from its vault in battle-torn Aleppo. ICARDA, the international center

for agricultural research in the dry areas, requested a portion of the seeds it deposited back.

[11:45:44] MAHMOUD EL-SOLH, ICARDA DIRECTOR GENERAL: This is where we are storing the seeds, the first shipment of seed that came from Svalbard.

DAMON: Now based in Lebanon, ICARDA director general Mahmoud El-Solh has the challenging job of keeping precious genetic lines alive. This is a wild

relative of wheat that likely doesn't exist in nature anymore.

DAMON: Why is -- what I'm holding in my hands so important?

SOLH: This is a source of desirable trait, including drought tolerance, including heat tolerance, including resistance to diseases and

so forth.

DAMON: But it's not just the wild strains. Its other crops, like these fava seeds that have been grown by farmers over hundreds of years. This

seed contains traits that might end up being necessary for the survival of the species, and we just don't know it yet?

SOLH: Exactly.

DAMON: The seeds with traits potentially vital to help us adapt to climate change, will be replanted in Lebanon, just across the border from

Syria. Another vault built to replace the one in Aleppo, lost to war. And a parallel project in Morocco. Crop diversity is a prerequisite for food

security. And experts say our past is fundamental to our future survival. But war has meant that humanity has had to activate its backup plan, sooner

than anyone ever anticipated.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Beqaa Valley, Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You are watching Connect the World. And still to come, there was the Steve Jobs that the world knew, and then there was the Steve Jobs

only known to his closest friends. Now, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is defending his film depiction of the Apple co-founder. More on that ahead.

Plus, can you spot what's missing in these photos? We'll hear from the photographer who took pictures of people with something many of us rely

on taken away. We'll explain as this broadcast continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:20] HOWELL: You are watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm George Howell in for Becky Anderson. Good to have you with us.

Let's start now with a story about the late founder -- co-founder of Apple. There has always been a great deal of intrigue about Steve Jobs.

But now a new film about him is causing a great deal of controversy. Some of his family members and former colleagues, they're raising concerns about

exactly how he's depicted.

But screenwriter Aaron Sorkin defended that film saying his conscience is clear.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SETH ROGEN, ACTOR: What do you do? You're not an engineer, you're not a designer, you can't put a hammer to a nail? I built the circuit

board, the graphical interface was stolen. So how come ten times in a day I read Steve Jobs is a genius? What do you do?

MICHAEL FASSBENDER, ACTOR: I just tried to take my own sort of feeling from what was in the script and then I just watched whatever was

available on YouTube from interviews and seminars, his speeches. So, I can't really say, you know. I just filled in my own blanks, but they could

be totally off.

Musicians play the instruments, I play the orchestra.

AARON SORKIN, SCREENWRITER: If you asked 1,000 people who knew Steve Jobs for their impressions of Steve Jobs I think you'd get 1,000 different

impressions. What you don't see in this movie is a dramatic recreation of his Wikipedia page.

FASSBENDER: Having met people that were close to him both sort of in the workplace and you know just in sort of personal relationships, the

effect that he still has on these people and some I feel like are still orbiting around him in some respect. And the love that was apparent for

the man.

You see how this reminds you of a friendly face? It's warm and it's playful and inviting and it needs to say hello.

SORKIN: What you see is a dramatization of several of the personal conflicts that he had in his life. And they illustrate something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your Apple stock was $441 million while your daughter and her mother are on welfare.

FASSBENDER: She's not my daughter.

You're playing somebody that really did live in the world that we live in and has since passed away and they have close ones that obviously would

be worried about how their late husband or father or friend is going to be portrayed. For sure it weighed on my conscience.

SORKIN: My conscience is clear. And I don't think I would have done anything unfair. I don't even think I would have done anything that was in

bounds that was fair, but cruel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're issuing contradictory instructions, you're insubordinate, you make people miserable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if that were true, doesn't sound that diabolical to me.

FASSBENDER: I have the utmost respect for Steve Jobs and his family. Hopefully, you know, when they see it, if they see it, they don't feel hurt

by it, because it certainly wasn't my intent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You can always follow the stories the team is working on throughout the day by going to our Facebook page. It's Facebook.com/CNN

Connect and get in touch on Twitter. You can reach out at my Twitter handle, @GeorgeHowellCNN.

For many of us, mobile devices, they are essential to our daily lives. They connect us to our friends, our family, our work. But in our Parting

Shots today, these photographs that we want to show you, they show how our devices can actually separate us from the people around us.

Eric Pickersgil took the pictures as part of his removed series. Take a listen to how he shot them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC PICKERSGIL, PHOTOGRAPHER: I go out with the view camera, and as I see these things happen I just go and approach the people and generally

walk up on them with this large format view camera and so then I just essentially tell them about the project and most people -- I actually only

had one person ever turn me down to make the images. And I asked them to perform what they were doing. And then I set up my shot in moments prior

to making the exposure I just remove the phone from their hand.

And so it's a very easy gesture for people to perform because they do it so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Your hand even gets used to holding these things. Maybe just a good idea to put them down for a bit.

We thank you for watching. I'm George Howell. This has been Connect the World live from the CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta. Becky

Anderson will be back from assignment tomorrow. Again, thanks for being with us.

You're watching CNN, the world's news leader.

END